


a strange place in the dark

by kingozma



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Ah... The Dirt Is Everywhere, Babysitting, Fridge Horror, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Incest, Incest: The Thing That Universally Meant Abuse Before Creeps Online Showed Up, Mystery, Protective Noctis Lucis Caelum, Psychological Horror, Troublingly Unchildlike Behavior, minivan au, please mind the description + notes!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-18 01:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15474051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingozma/pseuds/kingozma
Summary: noct has some strange dreams and, through them, gets to know his dear uncles ardyn and somnus and what they went through. [this fic includes warnings for rape + underage because it will eventually deal with themes of incestuous abuse, even if mostly in abstractions. this is not a fic that romanticizes fictional pedophilic rape.]





	1. sounds - possibly musical

When Noctis Lucis Caelum arrived on the doorstep of the Izunia household in what would, in a good thousand years, be called Tenebrae, it was 7pm sharp. He would know that, because even though there was no cell service a thousand years ago, in the world of his dreams, his phone would still display the time.

Now, the concept of ‘babysitting’ was strangely not at all new to the people of this ancient Tenebrae, so when he was face to face with the pale, skinny things that answered the door - one of them clearly male, another one female - they gave him a quick rundown of the details they wanted him to pay attention to. Food allergies, bedtimes, what Noct was allowed to do in their house, all things like that.

One of the things he was allowed to do was watch TV and help himself to dinner after the two little boys had gone to bed, a statement that confused Noct some until he glanced inside the living room to see that there was, in fact, a television sitting on an entertainment system.

Dreams are weird that way.

The gangly female creature introduced her children to Noct, two boys that looked absolutely nothing like her.

The older brother, Ardyn, was a wary 12 year old boy with hair like wine, who shamelessly squinted up at Noct, analyzing him, judging his worthiness. Or something like that - there was a terribly regal air about this one, and he stood protectively in front of his younger brother.

The younger brother, black-haired Somnus, was 10 years old and looked very ready for bedtime, even though they weren’t expected to go to bed for another hour and a half, at 8:30. His posture was a bit hunched over, and he didn’t seem to like letting his older brother out of his sight.

Noct didn’t know where the pale things were going this evening, they didn’t say anything except that they “needed a break” from these two, which - you know, Noct could understand that. Boys can be very difficult.

Of course, he already knew one of these boys very well. Little Ardyn was a saucy little troublemaker, so he could imagine what a terror it would be to raise him as a child, even with the mild-mannered Founder King to balance his older brother’s personality.

So that’s why he didn’t ask any questions.

————————————————————— 

What Noct realized right off the bat was, to be a good babysitter, you do have to break the rules a little bit. You have to let the kids watch shows their parents wouldn’t let them watch, let them have ice cream before bed, things like that - within reason, within safety, within sanity. Being a natural rule-bender, he had no problems with this, if it meant the boys would like him and want him to watch them again.

Once he’d figured out for sure that there was, in fact, ice cream in the curiously modern fridge the Izunia family had in their kitchen, he’d gone ahead and made himself a bowl and gone back to the living room with the boys, sitting on the couch beside Ardyn - Somnus was sitting on the floor right next to Ardyn’s feet. He was about to ask if they wanted any too, with that sly, handsome smirk on his face, but before he could finish his question, Ardyn had a question of his own in this very lucid dream.

“Do you have monsters living under your bed?”

Noct didn’t know what to make of a question like that, he... Stuff like this, his dad was pretty good at, so he wondered if he just ought use good old Regis as example for a moment here.

“No,” he said, chuckling, “Not anymore, I got rid of ‘em. Why do you ask?”

“Sorry,” Ardyn said, glancing away for a second and chuckling himself. The boy was older on the inside than he looked, Noct thought. “Somnus just thinks there’s monsters under his bed, and he hasn’t given me any room to breathe for a good two days! I was hoping you would know what to do, I /do/ implore you to help.”

Glaring over at Noct and Ardyn on the couch, Somnus grumbled, “Don’t say it like that.”

“Well, it’s true,” Ardyn said, pouting. “I need my personal space too, you know, if I were to follow you around all day and hold onto your shirt like that, it would simply drive you mad!”

“No it wouldn’t,” said Somnus, frowning.

“Yes it would,” replied Ardyn.

“Would /not/.”

“Would most certainly too!”

“Alright, alright,” Noct laughed, patting Ardyn’s head - making the older boy flinch with a disproportionate force to clueless Noct’s touch, “Hey. I’ll take a look before bedtime, okay? In the meantime, you guys wanna stay out here with me?” He flashed a mischievous grin. “I’m pretty good with a sword, I don’t think any monster would wanna mess with me.”

At that, Somnus seemed charmed by the babysitter, though the much more socially Rhopaloceran (feel free to look that one up, it’s ALMOST a real word) older brother withheld any sort of judgment, positive or negative, on Noctis.

Somnus has always been fascinated by swords. Sharp objects in general, really. One would suppose that’s probably a normal fascination for a little boy to have, what with all these storybooks about heroic knights wielding swords.

He simply nodded at Noct, his eyes practically shining with admiration, while Ardyn yawned, his arms behind his head and his legs crossed.

“I don’t see why not,” said Ardyn, “I’m not particularly afraid of what’s under my bed, though. I will have you know that the thought is appreciated, though.”

“You’re... Welcome?” Noct just chuckled, deciding he would always struggle to understand Ardyn, even as a cute little kid who used words a little too big for his own voice that hasn’t even dropped yet.

—————————————————————

Of course, in the meantime, Noct had gotten the boys each a bowl of ice cream. Of course, because this was a dream, the strawberry ice cream they were both eating had turned into this strange, coal-black color. A sickly sort of dark, dark grey that made your mouth feel dry just looking at it.

At one point, since he was just spooning up the melted remains of his black strawberry ice cream, a thin line of black had dribbled down Ardyn’s chin - much to his embarrassment, he right away wiped his mouth with his long sleeve, with the reckless abandon of any little kid who doesn’t really value their clothes, since they all get washed anyway, don’t they?

Noct smiled at the sight of the terrifying Accursed in such a small, harmless form, behaving like any other child.

They had all gotten caught up in watching a movie on TV, a political drama about a strangely modern Lucian politician who wasn’t quite a king, but was very powerful, who was assassinated by his own allies because of his highly progressive policies.

Exactly when the brave young reporter discovered who the politician’s murderers really were, Noct realized it was 9:15pm.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, realizing then that he had no idea when the pale creatures would be back, “Hey, uh— guys, I didn’t realize it was this late, we’re gonna have to get ready for bed.”

“Right NOW?” Ardyn asked, seeming aghast.

“During the only interesting part of the movie?” Somnus added, which earned him a dirty look from Ardyn, who quite liked dramas like this.

Noct grit his teeth and sighed.

“I know, I know, it sucks - I’m sorry. But if your parents walk in, seeing you awake and watching a movie with ice cream, I’m gonna get in trouble.”

The odd thing was, Noct expected some resistance from the boys, but they both turned sheet-white and seemed to immediately understand the seriousness of the situation.

“Ah,” said Ardyn, uncharacteristically terse. “Of course. We will head to bed at once.”

“Do you want any help with the dishes?” Somnus asked, his fingers trembling a bit.

“No,” said Noct, grinning nervously, “No, it’s cool. Just get your pajamas on and go to bed, I’ll be there if you need any water or anything after I... Dispose of the evidence.”

“Water sounds nice... Thank you,” Somnus said as he stood up and started towards their bedroom.

“Yes, thank you - I have one request, though,” said Ardyn before he left, “Will you pay close attention to the rest of this film for me, if you can? If you can’t, I suppose it’s alright - I would just like to know how it ends, if possible.”

Noct answered as honestly as he could, saying “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you kindly, my dear Noctis,” said Ardyn, bowing slightly before following Somnus.

... A chill ran down Noct’s back. Ardyn didn’t mean any harm, being just a little boy, but Noct’d be damned if that didn’t freak him out a little with the adult Ardyn he knows so well.

Nonetheless, he washed the three bowls and three spoons they all used as quickly -but thoroughly - as he could, drying them with a rag and piling the bowls at the very bottom of the stack of them in the cupboard and doing the same with the spoons. Just to be safe.

At this point, he’d calmed down quite a bit, because no matter when the pale creatures would come home, they wouldn’t know a thing. Even if they walked in at this exact moment, he could just say Somnus woke up and asked for a glass of water.

Noct was glad that they didn’t, though. He was looking forward to some time alone tonight, and an actual meal rather than just ice cream, which he had forgot to make himself.

First, though, he was just gonna take these two glasses of water to Ardyn and Somnus’ room and wish them goodnight and all that good stuff. He didn’t actually know where their room was, admittedly - but he figured it out with no problems, it was the door at the very end of the hall on the left.

For a moment, Noct couldn’t help but panic, because all he saw were lumps under the covers of two beds against opposite sides of the wall, but - as his eyes adjusted to the pitch black darkness of this room, he saw two small bodies standing, facing the far right corner of the room, where the light couldn’t reach.

“... Hey. Guys?” Noct called, not raising his voice too much, “I, uh. I got your water here.”

There was no reply from the two pale boys standing in time-out. Noct at first wondered if they were trying to spook him.

“Alright, guys, very scary - I’m just gonna put your water on your nightstands, is that cool?”

... Again, the boys said nothing. Noctis, too, said nothing for a second or two before he just went ahead and placed one glass on each nightstand.

Once he’d done that, though, he just didn’t feel right leaving them like this. He knew they were just messing with him, but... Look, I dunno, when you’re alone in someone’s house, and you’ve promised to make sure their kids are safe in bed, you start imagining some weird shit in the dark, and you just wanna make sure everything is okay, alright?

The silence persisted, even as Noct walked right up behind them.

He asked, voice so small,

“... Guys?”

Somnus’ head fell off of his body and bounced just once, rolling to a stop on the floor. Dreams are weird like that.

“Be QUIET,” came a very soft hiss, from a voice he wasn’t sure he recognized as Ardyn OR Somnus.

“... Ardyn?” Noct asked, voice trembling slightly as he felt a strange prickling sensation in his eyes.

“I said, for heaven’s sake, QUIET,” hissed - Ardyn, it turned out the voice was Ardyn, whose hands were balled into tight, shaking fists at his sides. “They’ll hear you.”

“Noctis?”

The soft, unfamiliar voice made Noct jump about a foot in the air, reaching at his hip to activate the Armiger, before realizing it was the female pale creature from before. The boys’ mother.

No one was in time-out but Noct. Ardyn and Somnus were fast asleep in their bed that they shared, and both of their nightstands had a full glass of water, slightly bleeding drops of condensation onto the wood.

“Is... Everything okay in here?” Mrs. Izunia asked, turning her head slightly.

“Yeah—“ Noct said, immediately lowering his voice so as not to wake the boys. “Yeah. They’re fine, Somnus just got up and asked me for water a couple minutes ago.”

“Oh,” said Mrs. Izunia, chuckling softly, “Guess he conked right back out. He’s a real heavy sleeper.”

“I guess so,” Noct replied, smiling back at her, stepping out of the timeout corner and into the light of the hallway, following Mrs. Izunia out into the living room.

He glanced at the powered-down TV before she turned to hand him the 500gil she promised. He never did finish that movie... Poor Ardyn. Noct would have to figure out what that movie was called and try and Moogle a summary of it.

She stood alone, it seemed like Mr. Izunia was already in their bedroom.

“I like you, Noct,” Mrs. Izunia said with a smile, “I think the boys like you too. They hate bedtime, so if they went to sleep for you, I think they like you a lot.”

“Oh! You— you think so? Uh, thanks,” Noct said, a little embarrassed but glad he’d done his job well.

“I think we might be calling on you a little more often, when we need nights to get away like this,” said Mrs. Izunia - quickly following up with “If — if that’s okay, I mean. If you like the boys.”

“Oh, yeah! Of course,” Noct replied, grinning, “They’re funny little guys. I wouldn’t mind taking care of ‘em whenever they needed it, that sound good?”

“Great— oh, you are just a life-saver,” said Mrs. Izunia as she walked him outside to the Regalia parked on the curb of this ancient Tenebraean white picket fence home, “Thank you so much, Noctis. You have a good night, okay? We’ll call you next time we need you.”

“Alright,” he called with a smile as she started heading back to her front door, waving goodbye, “See ya next time,” before unlocking his car door and getting in the driver’s seat.

... Once he was alone in the Regalia, he took a deep breath and sighed. He felt a vibration in his pocket and pulled out his phone, which was now displaying a text, oddly enough, from Prompto.

_howd it go man??? :o didnt burn down the house or nothin?_

That was what the text read, and Noct chuckled, relieved to see that his phone had some kind of reception even in his dreams, in such a strange place in the dark, and replied right away.

He was so relieved that he didn’t think about why Prompto knew he was done with tonight’s ‘shift’. Dreams are weird like that.

**Went good! yeah there is something beyond weird as hell about this place though ‘_ >’**

_well that’s good to hear but weird how???_

**I dunno, it’s just like, there’s something weird about the kids. they seem to like me, the mom loves me, so ill be seeing them again soon i think**

_oh sweet! youll have to tell me more when you get back, ok? :DD_

**Yeah sure thing dude will do. see you guys in a few**

—————————————————————

Noct didn’t even get a chance to put his key in the ignition and turn the car on, he found himself slowly waking up in the pitch black dark of a room at the Leville the party had booked for the night.

Everyone, it seemed, was fast asleep. Prompto, Gladio, Ignis, Mikami, Luna, Ravus and Ardyn - look, it was a tight room tonight, but they made it work. Everyone doubled up on the three beds - Noct and Luna, Ignis and Ravus, Mikami and Ardyn, and Gladio and Prompto on a little blow-up mattress on the floor.

... Just, out of curiosity, Noct shot Ardyn a quick couple texts.

**Hey old man i just had the weirdest dream**

**I dunno like i think i was babysitting you and some other kid??? he was your younger brother i think**

**Oh shit that makes him the Founder King. im super tired don’t mind me**

**Everything was fine it just got weird when i found you guys in your room all huddled up in the corner and you were like “they’ll hear you, be quiet” and then your mom got home. i don’t remember a ton after that but i thought you’d be interested to hear about it. think it means anything?**

And, to Noct’s surprise, he heard a rustling over from Ardyn and Mikami’s bed, and got a reply within a minute or two.

_Is that right... Truly curious! I don’t believe babysitting was an established business when I was young enough to need one, but nonetheless, I am fascinated. I wonder where this dream will take you..._

**Oh do you think it’ll be recurring???**

_Very possibly! Dreams this strange often are. I do encourage you to take notes on everything you remember just in case... Perhaps you will be able to glean some hidden wisdom from it._

_Oh, just one thing I will ask you to consider, though._

**Yeah what’s up asshole**

_Please don’t tell anyone what you find. At least not anyone but me. Not until we can find out more about what this means._

Noct simply... Blinked, shaking his head a little in his sleepy haze.

**Uhhhh sure yeah... this is a thing you’re asking for normal reasons right?**

_Normal reasons? I don’t follow._

**Just need to be sure you’re not messing with me or planning something**

_Oh, my sweet boy. I know what you must be thinking, and I am more than able to prove my innocence in this scenario, at least. No, I simply ask for respect of my privacy until I am ready to share your findings. I have nothing to lose but my dignity if others were to know before I decided they ought to know. Do you understand? Please. Please honor this one request for me._

**Alright yeah. so i guess you don’t mind me sharing with you if this amounts to anything in terms of recurring or continuing dreams then**

_Of course not. Do keep me updated._

**Cool will do**

With that, Noct just put his phone on the nearest of two nightstands between him and Ignis and Ravus’ bed, spooning up to Luna’s back and wrapping one arm around her stomach, closing his eyes.

It didn’t take him long to fall asleep after that, and a dreamless sleep it was.


	2. this pallid rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [TW: arachnophobia/spider’s, children in pain, incest - whichll make more sense later, it’s not meant to be taken as okay or romantic, but as a ‘learned behavior’. neither child is the abuser here.]

When Noctis Lucis Caelum arrived on the doorstep of the Izunia household in what would, in a good thousand years, be called Tenebrae, it was 7pm sharp. He would know that, because even though there was no cell service a thousand years ago, in the world of his dreams, his phone would still display the time.

He’d been texting with Mrs. Izunia - or at least felt like he’d been, even though semi-ancient Tenebrae has no cell service, dreams are weird like that - about the possibility of cooking for Ardyn and Somnus for additional pay: something he’d planned to try tonight.

Since the initial visit was already over with, he knew very well what the boys’ bedtime was, what to do in case of an emergency, and why the Izunias were hiring him.

Like they said before, they ‘needed a break’ from two strange, precocious little boys. Noct supposed he understood, but he didn’t quite understand at all - maybe Ardyn and Somnus were sassier than he thought they were? Maybe, as with a lot of kids, they acted differently with the babysitter than with their own parents.

Like the last time Noct left the house, Mr. Izunia was absent - maybe he was just already in the car. Mrs. Izunia seemed in a hurry tonight anyway, but she was polite enough to point out where in the fridge and the cupboard Noct might find ingredients for a kid-friendly meal, and where he would find ingredients more suited to an adult’s dinner.

It was a touching notion, considering the fact that Noct had already more or less accepted the fact that he had the palate of a 12 year old, and that wasn’t changing any time soon.

However, what was on Noct’s mind the second Mrs. Izunia slid the way she did out the door was the fact that he, ever so cleverly, had consulted Ignis on how best to fake a summary of the ending of a that movie he never caught the ending of.

In this dream, his memory of doing so was hazy, but he remembered Ignis’ enchanted laugh at the idea that Noct would work so hard to make a child happy.

So, when little Ardyn with the mark on his cheek just as wine-red as his hair inevitably asked,

“I do hate to be pushy, but I simply have to know - were you able to do what I asked a couple weeks ago?”

Well. Noct had an answer.

Rummaging around in the kitchen, he decided to word his answer as naturally as he could, with a little “Huh...? OH— right, yeah, I remembered! One sec, I even took notes.”

Ardyn quirked one brow, looking quite impressed out of the corner of Noct’s eye.

Noct found his way to his Notes app, where he and Ignis had devised an interesting little plot regarding the fate of the reporter and the mystery of that politician’s death she was on the brink of publicly solving. “Yeah - okay, so the lady, whatever her name was—“

“Miss Harriet,” Ardyn said, correcting Noct.

“Ha— Yeah, her - so Harriet figured out who fired the first shot, right? Cause after that it got a little vague, since there was a ton of gunfire going off,” said Noct, reciting his notes as best he could while gathering ingredients for dinner.

“Of course,” said Ardyn.

“So like, that was when the dead politician’s BROTHER showed up, that’s who that guy who was threatening her was. He was the one who organized the whole thing, wanting the power for himself - since he and his brother were sort of running for office together.”

“I knew it...” Ardyn whispered, eyes widening and one hand lifting to his little mouth.

“So what happened was, he was there holding a gun up at her, going on and on about how and why he did it, and how it was like, ‘so sad that no one would ever find out the truth after all her hard work’, but then it turned out that she was RECORDING HIM the whole time, and she had a whole crew with her in that parking lot, and like, you’d think he would just give up at that point, right?”

“I certainly would, seeing all those people against me,” said Ardyn in a thoughtful little tone that made Noct’s heart ache a little.

“Right,” said Noct, “But the crazy guy tried to shoot his way out. He actually ended up taking out one of Harriet’s friends before the police arrived, but the police did get there eventually and they hauled him off. Harriet’s story ran, and then everyone learned the politician guy wasn’t just randomly assassinated, he was betrayed by all the people he trusted the most.”

“I see...” Ardyn said, head turning down just slightly, “It’s awfully sad for Harriet’s friend... But how good, it seems to have ended happily?”

“Yeah. She even got with that one guy, the manager’s assistant.”

“Oh! Good for her. Well, Noctis, I didn’t think you would do it, but this means ever so much to m— are. Are those eggs?”

Ardyn’s nose scrunched up a bit as he leaned his weight on one leg to glance around Noct, trying to figure out what he was making for dinner.

“Yeah!” Said Noct, “That’s eggs, and over here I got bacon and sausage and bread.”

“You’re... You can’t possibly be making breakfast for DINNER, can you?” Ardyn asked, seeming absolutely shocked by the notion of it - so much so that he laughed a little.

“Sure I can! When you’re a grown up, you can eat whatever you want for whatever meal. Unless you... Don’t like eggs or something, you don’t have to eat ‘em,” Noct said, chuckling to himself. “I’m not gonna force you to eat anything, I can try something else. That was just the idea I had.”

Ardyn shook his head and said “No, we would both be alright with a dinner like that. It’s just... If we were to ask for breakfast food for dinner, our FaThEr WoUlD tEaR oUr HaIr OuT!”

Noct turned his head around so fast it almost ached.

“Come again?” He asked, eyes wide.

“I said,” Ardyn said a little slower, “If we were to ask for breakfast food for dinner, our mother would look at us rather funny. Wouldn’t yours?”

It didn’t take too long for Noct’s heart to stop pounding, but - aside from the obvious internal check of ‘Am I just losing it?’, Ardyn’s statement presented another problem.

“I, uh...” Noct didn’t know what to say, but decided it was best to keep things light-hearted “Haha, I never really knew my mom, but she’d probably think it was weird too.”

“Oh.” Ardyn looked positively mortified. “I am so sorry, how thoughtless of me.”

“Nah, it’s okay. You didn’t know, don’t worry about it.” Noct reached behind him a bit to pat Ardyn’s head, again seeming to make the boy flinch and freeze for a moment without realizing it.

There was a moment or two of silence as Noct glanced back into the living room, scrambling the eggs in a frying pan, noticing that something was missing “Hey - where’s Somnus?”

“Ah, yes, my dear little brother,” Ardyn purred, “He’s still in our room.”

Noct didn’t know that he should have been asking questions at riiiiight about this point.

Instead, he just said, “Oh, alright, cool - Could you let him know dinner’s gonna be done soon?” and separated the scrambled eggs onto three plates, now working on getting the bacon cooked - and, while they were frying, he went ahead and put two of three slices of bread in the toaster.

There was a strained smile on Ardyn’s face as he simply nodded, disappearing into the living room and then the hallway, heading back to his room.

—————————————————————

Ardyn didn’t come back out until Noct finished the bacon and sausage. It was uncanny timing, really, he was just starting to butter the toast as he heard the faintest sound of treading over carpeted floor.

It appeared that Somnus had just woken up from a... Nap? Judging by how sluggish he seemed, how he was rubbing his eyes. Strange, since it was so close to bedtime, now that it was 7:30.

“You rest okay, sleepyhead?” Noct teased, grinning as he held all three plates in two hands, heading out to the living room to try and find something for him and the boys to watch.

Somnus simply yawned, chuckling a little, and Ardyn went in the kitchen to get the three of them glasses of water as Noct had forgotten to grab on his way out.

It was just strange, how Ardyn knew exactly where to pick up the ball that an adult had dropped that way. His teachers must love him.

Flipping through a couple channels before even taking a bite (it was an odd compulsion of Noct’s, to take care of business before eating), Noct found some kind of puppet show clearly aimed at kids younger than Ardyn and Somnus.

Somnus just giggled a bit at the choice of programming and said, his mouth full, “It’s strange that they would be playing something like this, this late at night.”

Something about the evening puppet show seemed a bit off, and that fascinated Noct. The puppets just didn’t move entirely ‘right’, and some of the dialogue was a bit muffled, like the microphone was far away.

“Give it a chance, I think it’s going somewhere,” said Noct. “Sometimes you see freaky stuff pretending to be a kid’s show.”

The three boys just sat in comfortable silence for a couple minutes, watching this strange story about the spread of a strange illness in this happy town of puppets. It was a little scary, Noct worried it was too scary, but Ardyn almost seemed a bit bored by it. Somnus, on the other hand, was completely enthralled, his eyes not leaving the screen for even a second.

This first episode they watched, they walked in on about halfway through. Apparently the young mayor of this puppet town was attempting to distract everyone from the horror of this encroaching epidemic by organizing a fair full of games for the townspeople.

They walked in on the games, so it looked like an average kid’s show.

When they saw the young mayor’s best friend and obvious love interest fall to the ground, moaning about how she didn’t feel so good, her thin little puppet arms trembling, that’s about the point that they realized they were in for a more adult story.

Then Noct noticed this was the same channel that he found that political drama on. Chewing on a forkful of eggs, he took a moment to look away from the colorful felt onscreen, and look up this channel in the TV Guide sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

There, on the second page, he found it. Channel 36, the Timeless Network, it was called. It was described as an adult channel, but not in any sort of way that Noct would think was inappropriate for kids. Just seemed like they showed stuff on this network that most kids would find boring or frightening.

He glanced at Ardyn.

Ardyn seemed a fan of the boring.

Then, looking over at Somnus, he realized that Somnus was fond of the frightening.

What an interesting pair of little guys these two were.

Noct couldn’t help but huff quietly with amusement. There were a lot of things timeless about this supposedly ancient Tenebraean house, he thought as he put the booklet back down and started at his tiny little sausages.

—————————————————————

Luckily, this time, Noct kept a closer eye on the clock, and as the second episode they were watching of this peculiar little show was coming to a close, he saw that it was coming right on 8:30.

“Alright guys,” he said, stretching his neck and starting to pick up plates and forks and cups, “It’s about that time.”

This time, he didn’t face even a bit of resistance. Ardyn had learned to like little aspects of this puppet show, but he still wouldn’t fight to stay up and watched more, and Somnus, who seemed to love it, wouldn’t have fought to begin with.

Somnus wasn’t a fighter, Noct noticed that about him last time he was here. Even if he had objections to various things, you wouldn’t catch him voicing them.

Somnus simply nodded, smiling faintly - maybe just glad he was able to discover this new show at all, even if this second episode ended on a sort of cliffhanger.

The mayor’s friend was in a strange, white facility where everyone wore these full-body suits. The mayor wasn’t allowed to see her, so she was all alone, surrounded only by people in giant, impersonal suits as she lay, possibly dying.

Whether or not she died was to be confirmed in the next episode.

Sensing something in his brother, Ardyn spoke up for Somnus, who was feeling at his own hair, and asked, “Do you suppose you could watch this show tonight and let Somnus know what happens to that girl?”

“Y-you don’t have to do that,” murmured Somnus - the second time he’d spoken tonight, going on touching his own scalp anxiously.

Noct smiled at Somnus before heading off to the kitchen, saying “I know I don’t have to. But I want to, if that’s what you want me to do.”

Noct’s response was almost like a foreign language to Somnus.

“I... I suppose, if you’re alright with it,” he mumbled, his face alight in a way Noct had never seen before. It was a nice feeling, making such a sad, shy little kid happy.

Ardyn smiled back at Noct in Somnus’ stead, nodding with approval. “How good, thank you very much! We’ll be getting ready, do you mind terribly getting us some more water, dear Noctis?”

The boy was talking to Noct like a beloved butler or something like that. It was adorable.

“Why, not at all, my good sir,” Noct replied in a stuffy, proper voice that made Ardyn and Somnus both laugh, and then switched to his usual tone of speech with a friendly grin on his face, “I’ll be there in a few.”

Making the tiny Accursed and the tiny Founder King happy was KILLING Noct, he realized, as the two of them left the room and headed back to the hallway, they were just so sweet. Six, he hoped they liked him. He liked them a lot.

—————————————————————

And, just as he said he would be, Noct was back in the boys’ room with two glasses of water. Strangely enough, though, the light was on, and there sat Ardyn and Somnus on the bed they shared, their backs to Noct.

Somnus was hunched over, clutching at the sheets, his shoulders heaving — he was crying. That’s what he was doing, the young Founder King was crying quietly.

Ardyn was combing through his brother’s long black hair, and seeming to have some difficulty getting a knot out.

“Was this here since you woke up this evening?” He asked, clearly exasperated, “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have gotten to it before it got tangled up this badly.”

Somnus whimpered, shaking, “I didn’t wanna bother you. I’m sorry,” and hiccuped.

At this, Noct cut in.

“Hey - guys? I got your water right here, it sounds like you need it,” he said, lowering his voice to a calming, velvety tone.

Ardyn, who turned his head to face Noct, looked relieved and delighted.

“Oh, thank goodness,” he said, “Here - Somnus, our Noctis has brought you some water, perhaps it’ll help with those hiccups.” He paused with the brushing, taking the two cups of water from Noct, offering one to Somnus before taking a sip of his own, putting it on the nightstand nearest to him.

Somnus, sniffling quietly, took a long gulp of water, and it took him several seconds before he hiccuped again. It didn’t fix the problem right away, but it seemed to be helping. Noct felt a little relief, seeing that he could make Somnus’ apparently-stressful-evening a little easier.

That’s what he felt until he walked over to see Ardyn and Somnus’ faces.

Well - that sounds a bit deceptive. There was nothing weird about Ardyn’s face. Somnus’ face, on the other hand, seemed to be slowly turning a sickly reddish-purple, as if he was slowly suffocating.

“Oh— My gods, what’s wrong?” He asked, voice dropping, “Somnus — can you breathe? Are you choking?”

Somnus shook his head, and realized his answer was a bit vague with the two questions asked.

“I can breathe,” he said, in a tiny, whimpering voice. And he didn’t sound particularly wheezy or short of breath, which scared Noct even more than if he did.

That meant that something was happening to Somnus and Noct had no idea how to fix it.

“Ardyn, what happened while I was gone?” He asked, sounding a little stern suddenly — he wasn’t angry with the boys. He just wanted answers.

Narrowing his brows a little, Ardyn said “I don’t know, he just asked me to brush his hair because it was knotted so badly it was starting to hurt. I didn’t notice that tonight, did you?”

Noct shook his head and Ardyn continued. “Yes, I thought so. Nonetheless, I am — trying to brush the knot out.”

He said that, but Noct noticed that with each stroke of the hairbrush, Ardyn was missing the knot entirely. Noct could see it now, it was pretty big and gnarly looking, this big tangle of frizzy black hair. He felt awfully sorry for both of the little guys, and so he spoke up.

“Hey - you want some help? Maybe I can give it a go, I’ve got some decent upper arm strength,” Noct said, frowning gently at Ardyn.

Ardyn simply sighed, and said, “I suppose it IS worth a try, isn’t it? Here you are,” handing Noct the brush. “Do be careful. He has a rather sensitive scalp. He really ought cut all this hair off, it won’t knot if it’s shorter.”

Somnus simply answered, whining softly, “I’m sorry. I’lL bE gOoD, pLeAsE dOn’T bE mAd ArDyN”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Ardyn asked, seeming not to hear Somnus right.

Somnus, sniffling, said “I’m sorry. I’ll figure it out when I can.”

“Not to worry, my treasure,” Ardyn said, voice sweet and low as he pet Somnus’ back comfortingly while Noct worked at the knot, “I can help you some day this weekend, how does that sound?”

Noct was being very gentle, holding Somnus’ hair at the root so the yanking sensation wasn’t quite as painful, so Somnus simply nodded, seeming to calm down a little. His face wasn’t changing back to a healthier color yet, so Noct was still... More than a little anxious, we could say.

But after a minute or two of Ardyn petting his brother, trying to soothe him as best as he could, Noct was able to break through the knot. Quite literally, ‘break’ was the best word one could use, to describe what had just happened, it was as if there was some hive formed in Somnus’ hair, and Noct had broken through the shell of it.

“Oh, wow - I think I’m finally getting it, I’m almost done, Somnus.”

Noct got no answer, Somnus was gently swaying as he sat up, and all the color had drained from Ardyn’s face.

“I don’t want to alarm you,” said Ardyn, voice trembling slightly. “I need you to remain calm and do exactly as I tell you, without question.”

Uh.

“... Sure... Okay,” said Noct, tensing up considerably.”

“You will find a plastic bag in the trash bin next to my nightstand. It’s the one nearest to you, not me. The bag should be empty,” Ardyn said, slowly and clearly.

Noct leaned off the edge of the bed to carefully grab this bag and take it off the trashcan, finding that it was, in fact, empty.

“Okay...” He murmured, waiting for Ardyn’s next instruction.

“I want you, before anything else, to walk over to the window. Unlatch it, and open it. It’s right over there against the back wall, you can’t possibly miss it. Go do that first.”

Noct quietly got up, glancing over his shoulder on the way there. Somnus was starting to lean against Ardyn, his eyelids looking a bit puffy, and Ardyn was closing his eyes, breathing in through his nose and sighing very slowly.

Trying to calm himself. The sight of Ardyn, behaving so much like an adult, was not cute in this moment but horrifying. Just what was going on that made him need to expend so much effort on staying calm?

The window was unlatched and opened up, and Noct asked, “Alright. What next?”

“Come back to the bed, sit behind my brother as you were,” Ardyn said, still closing his eyes. “Hold the open end of the bag to the back of his head.”

Noct didn’t like this. He never did to begin with, but certainly didn’t like it now. But regardless of how he felt, Ardyn seemed to think this would help Somnus’ condition, as Noct had no better ideas, so he had no choice but to do as he was told.

About to die of suspense, he held the bag tight to the back of Somnus’ head, waiting for... Whatever was about to happen next, he supposed.

Through the semi-sheer plastic, Noct saw a black leg peer out of the nest in Somnus’ head, and Noct nearly dropped the bag in shock - Ardyn noticed, and sharply said “NO. Stay still. Be calm - everything will be alright, just breathe. Breathe, my Noctis.”

Ardyn was having trouble staying calm himself, judging by he way he was gripping at Somnus’ sleeve.

One black leg became two, four. Five.

Eight.

Eight thick, hairy black legs, with little orange rings around each leg.

Noct’s hands shook almost violently, but he fought himself hard not to just drop the bag. That would make this situation so much worse than it needed to be.

“Once it’s all the way in, I need you to tie up the bag by the handles,” said Ardyn, “And drop the bag out the window as quickly and carefully as you can. I need you to do this for me. Can you do it?”

Noct swallowed, feeling the spider fall the rest of the way into the bag with a startlingly heavy feeling.

“I have to,” he said, voice cracking as he prepared to remove the bag from Somnus’ head.

Thankfully, the big spider was so confused about where it was, that it didn’t try to scuttle out in the half second that the open end of the bag was, well, open. Nonetheless, Noct felt his stomach lurch so hard that he might start gagging with anxiety.

Ardyn laid a gentle kiss on his brother’s lips, stroking Somnus’ cheek with a deep sort of tenderness.

Dreams are weird like that?

Noct didn’t notice or care, he simply stood up off of the bed as carefully as possible, trying not to shake the bag too much - Six forbid the spider fall out and break the bottom - and strode quickly over to the open window.

He took a deep breath, held the bag out the window into the chilly night air.

And let go.

...

Like a bit of an idiot, he just stood there for a second, mentally rebooting now that the spider seemed to be gone.

“... And close the window,” Ardyn said quickly, starting to become a bit nervous just watching Noct stand around.

“Right— right. Sorry.”

The window was shut again, and Noct’s fingers fumbled a bit as he latched it shut.

And then everyone in the room could breathe again.

Somnus’ face was now a shade of pink rather than purple, so he seemed to be doing better now that the growth, the— whatever was happening to him, now that it was gone. His head was resting on Ardyn’s shoulder, and he looked, understandably, tuckered right the hell out. Poor little guy, Noct thought, eyes soft as he gazed over at Somnus.

So tuckered out, in fact, that he already seemed to be dozing off on his older brother, one of his arms draped over Ardyn’s front. Ardyn didn’t move an inch, at least not just yet.

Noct... Carefully, quietly sat next to Ardyn, and a moment or two of silence in recovery passed between them.

“You’re a really strong person,” Noct finally said, his throat dry. “That’s. I don’t think I could direct someone out of a crisis situation like that. That was kind of amazing, you reminded me of a friend of mine - his name is Iggy.”

Ardyn was dead quiet, and Noct, then, was too.

... He added, “I... You're just. So grown up for your age. If I was 12, I would be just as lost and confused as I was just now. I-I think you’re. I think you’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”

Only belatedly did Noct realize how cruel a thing that was to say to the Accursed. He was glad Ardyn wouldn’t understand why, and would likely take that as a compliment.

Still, though, Ardyn was still.

“... Ardyn?”

He stopped to look down at the boy’s face, and his eyes were shut tightly, his teeth grit, and his shoulders were shaking.

Ardyn was. Not crying. Whatever he was doing, he was certainly not crying. His efforts saw to that - but... Not very well. Within seconds, he buckled under the weight of his own stress and let out a sharp whimper.

He immediately covered his mouth, eyes wide and glassy, positively mortified. How embarrassing, to cry in front of Noctis - but the shame combined with the terror of what just happened only made him cry harder. He hunched over, but not enough to disturb Somnus’ deep, deep, heavy sleep, and quietly sobbed to himself.

“Hey...” Noct gently cooed, his hand finding its way to Ardyn’s hair again, ruffling it up. “I. I get it. What happened was pretty scary, and I’m. I don’t know how it happened, but I’m sorry it even did. No kid should have to handle something like that. Your dad should’ve been here to help and I’m sorry he wasn’t.”

“I’m not sorry,” Ardyn said. The bitterness in his voice was so strong that even Noct recoiled. “I’m not sorry that he’s not here at all. It’s his fault anyway, filling Somnus’ head with such poison.”

Poison. Noctis has no idea what Ardyn was talking about. Ardyn went on nonetheless, not seeming to care about how confused Noct was. “It’s all his fault that this happened, and I— I would be happy if he never came back. If he and mother just died, that would be the most wonderful gift they could give us.

Ardyn was crying, but coherent. This boy was dead serious.

Something wasn’t right.

Noct, not having a clue of what to do or say, just said “... You’re better than him, then. You were able to extract the poison. Without you, Somnus might’ve gotten very sick.”

Ardyn sniffled, whimpering softly and shutting his eyes again, shaking his head.

“No. No I didn’t.”

“Yeah you did,” Noct said, “The spider’s outside now.”

“No. No. It’s still— it’s still there. You don’t understand. I could only remove it because it was already crowning.”

That word, ‘crowning’, made Noct sick to his stomach all over again.

“And the poison will always be there, because,” Ardyn stammered, desperately trying to speak clearly between sobs, “It’ll never go away, because we have to—“

Noct looked up and saw the spider, the plastic bag hanging off one of its feet, walking up the outside of the closed window.

“We HAVE to. You don’t get it— They make us do it.

We have to.”

—————————————————————

It was a more abrupt end tonight, than last night. The parents didn’t come home, no one texted him, the dream had simply ended.

Noct was wide awake this time, because it was already light out, and the party was starting to wake up.

Ignis and Ravus were in the kitchenette of the hotel room, making breakfast, and Noct could hear Luna helping.

Gladio and Prompto, Noct... Didn’t know where they went. Maybe they were in the kitchen too. He couldn’t tell.

But Mikami and Ardyn were still here.

There Ardyn was, sitting on the edge of the bed he shared with Mikami, both of their backs to Noct.

“They make us do it,” Ardyn said, his voice shaking and cracking.”

Mikami, clueless and sweet as he was, simply murmured “I know,” stroking Ardyn’s chest and cuddling up to him.

“We have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i told myself im not going to write surreal horror fic for another two hours today and i have let myself down. hopefully me letting myself down is entertaining in some way to read
> 
> i can see maybe one or two more chapters of this, maybe a sort of epilogue where ardyn and noct (as in, the adult ones) have a nice cathartic chat and have a good healthy cry since they’ll both need it. especially ardyn


	3. ICQCQ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> please mind the trigger warnings for your own comfort and safety!
> 
>  
> 
> [CW: emotional abuse onscreen, gaslighting, manipulation, self harm, incestuous abuse implied, child sexual abuse implied, physical abuse implied. hopefully it’s as cathartic to folks as it was for me to write]

 

When Noctis Lucis Caelum arrived on the doorstep of the Izunia household in what would, in a good thousand years, be called Tenebrae, it was 7pm sharp. He would know that, because even though there was no cell service a thousand years ago, in the world of his dreams, his phone would still display the time.

 

And, truth be told, it had been a while since this particular dream continued for Noct. Mrs. Izunia reacted accordingly when she greeted him as if she had a heart and soul, “Hey, oh my gosh, long time no see, Noct! It’s good to have you over, come on in.”

 

Noct did not once smile at her, he simply stepped over the threshold from the pleasant, cool night air, into the stuffy warmth of her birdcage.

 

And there the two birds were sitting on the couch in front of him.

 

Somnus’ feathers were incredibly ruffled, and he was hugging himself, rocking back and forth, staring wide-eyed down at the coffee table, or perhaps something underneath it, or perhaps something underneath the floorboards.

 

Noct found himself wincing at the sight of it, his heart throbbing painfully.

 

The prouder of the two, Ardyn, having donned war paint of red and purple bruises on his eye, his cheek, his arms, was sitting with a straight back, wings in his lap, a dignified and calm look on his face. Now, keep in mind, there is a world of difference between not caring, and disciplining oneself not to look scared.

 

Noct knew Ardyn was in the latter category, and in an ironic twist of events, it made him of all people feel scared. It was a bit like when a child watches their parent cry, but... He wouldn’t be able to word it in a way that made sense to another person, but he had to force himself to stop analyzing the boy’s’ body language lest he start crying himself.

 

Mrs. Izunia was still smiling that practiced, plastic housewife smile, and she said, “Feel free to take a seat - I brought extra chairs,” while gesturing to a soft-looking armchair that was not in this room before.

 

Noct looked back at the boys and, if you’ll believe it, seemed to wait for their permission in some kind of tacit sign that only he could understand.

 

Ardyn began to look annoyed and confused by Noct, so Noct figured the sign was not coming, and sat in the armchair, careful not to get too comfortable. He wasn’t here to be comfortable.

 

“I’m just gonna sit my butt down over here,” Mrs. Izunia said casually, sitting on the floor by Somnus’ legs which, for some reason, instinctually closed up. Ardyn looked like he was about ready to strangle someone, if not for his own self-control, with the way he was gripping his own knees with white, white fingers.

 

Dreams are weird that way.

 

“Alright,” said Mrs. Izunia, voice lofty and kind like she was some kind of schoolteacher, “Is there anything you two wanna tell the babysitter?”

 

“I’m sorry,” little Somnus immediately blurted out, his nails digging into his arms, “I’m sorry— I could have kept it in and I didn’t and then everyone was scared and I—“

 

“Honey, no one knows what you’re talking about,” said Mrs. Izunia, and something about that turn of phrase made Noct’s stomach turn as well.

 

Like she had some level of experience telling Somnus he sounded crazy.

 

Somnus stopped a moment, pausing to gather himself and his words. He needed more time for that than Ardyn, Noct noticed.

 

Breathing in through his nose, Somnus said, slowly, “I’m sorry. I should have left the scissors in the drawer. I hurt myself and that was bad. I’m sorry.”

 

That wasn’t what Noct remembered happening.

 

“But... Wait, what a— what the h— what about th—“

 

“You shouldn’t stutter, my dear Noctis,” said Ardyn, a familiar expression on his face as he looked Noct right in the eyes, “It is unbecoming, and betrays a sort of unpreparedness about you.”

 

That dead look in the boy’s eyes was identical to the look Noct saw most often on Ardyn’s face as a grown man.

 

“Uh— sorry?” Noct said, shaking his head, a bit startled by Ardyn’s calm behavior, “I’m... I think it was a stressful evening for everyone, can you explain exactly what happened again so I can understand it, Somnus?”

 

That earned an approving half-smile from Ardyn, and a nod so subtle only Noct noticed it.

 

“I... Um... Okay,” Somnus said, looking a bit embarrassed, “I... I got a pair of scissors from my side table and, um... I tried to... Cut my hair, but I... Um... I stabbed myself in the back of the head, I think on accident at first - and I didn’t. Stop doing it. And I was bleeding a lot. Ardyn had to call 9-11, and I went to the emergency room. Um, I didn’t hurt my skull or my brain, they were just scissors, and I’m not— THAT strong — but I was bleeding a lot and it hurt and they had to give my stitches.”

 

Noct just blinked.

 

He knew for a fact that this is not what happened, or at least it wasn’t what he saw when he was last year, but he knew that he had to go along with it.

 

“It’s okay,” Noct said, “Uh - if there’s something making you upset, that makes you wanna hurt yourself, we can talk about it sometime.”

 

At that, Somnus’ eyes widened and the look on Ardyn’s face shifted to shocked and quite obvious disapproval as his body turned protectively towards Somnus without realizing it, and Mrs. Izunia cut in.

 

“Oh, there’s nothing going on in his life like that,” she said, almost laughing, “There’s nothing wrong with his home life - it’s certainly nothing WE’RE doing, so I’m not exactly positive why he would do that to himself and us.”

 

And us.

 

Noct... Squinted a bit at those last two words, but decided to let them go, as he felt like it would earn him Ardyn’s good favor again.

 

“Uh... Yeah, I dunno,” he said, ineffectual and wanting to stab his own damn head for how helpless he was at the moment to help the boys.

 

Why did he feel helpless? He could probably summon the Armiger at any time and just chop the woman’s head off, but - wouldn’t that be drastic? Wouldn’t that be a bit dramatic?

 

Wasn’t he just being an irrational, spoiled little boy? Surely he could endure this a while longer.

 

He began watching his own thoughts very carefully after he caught that, because the last time he thought that of himself was...

 

Well, that’s an entirely different harrowing story of a little boy losing his innocence for another day.

 

Either way, the look on Ardyn’s face calmed a bit.

 

Mrs. Izunia didn’t seem satisfied with only Somnus’ apology, and she said “We’ll be talking to you a little more later - Ardyn, is there anything you wanna say to the babysitter?”

 

And Ardyn’s eyes lit up with a terrible amber flame, a smile spreading across his face.

 

“Ohh,” Ardyn flat-out moaned, pressing one hand to his heart in an unsettlingly adult manner, “My poor Noctis, I am so deeply sorry for the confusion I caused that evening with my careless speech. I was a terribly bad boy, telling such lies about my dear old father, do you think you could ever forgive me?”

 

Noctis looked like he was about to be sick, watching this display - but then Mrs. Izunia did something strange.

 

She was staring right at Ardyn, jaw dropped, and she scoffed before laughing to herself.

 

“You always fucking do this, you little shit.”

 

Noct saw a flash of fear in Ardyn’s eyes for a moment - just a moment - before he continued.

 

“I’m not entirely sure what you mean, mother, I am only giving our guest the courtesy he deserves,” he said, hands slowly going back to his lap.

 

“Yeah. Our guest,” Mrs. Izunia replies, voice full of venom, “He is MY guest, this is MY house, you are not the boss of ANYBODY here, no matter HOW bad you wish you were, and you just get to put up with that and grow the fuck up, you fucking - parasite. That’s what you are, Ardyn - I ask you for a completely normal apology for saying you wanted to KILL YOUR OWN FATHER, making the babysitter think he was some kind of fucking child-beater, and you sit here, putting on some disturbing little play so the babysitter will keep believing the lies you tell him.”

 

Turning her head to Noct, she went on, “It’s all lies, just so you know. Apparently I’m raising a fucking compulsive liar, I didn’t know I was, but somewhere, he learned to be a complete fucking narcissist who tries to pit people against his family.”

 

Somnus’ body was curled in on itself so that his forehead was touching his knees, and his hands were covering his ears.

 

“Oh, for the gods’ sake, fucking stop it,” Mrs. Izunia said to her youngest, rolling her eyes, “It’s always the victim act with you, someone asks you to change your shit behavior even slightly and you start acting like they’re gonna beat you.”

 

Ardyn, now looking altogether ill with anxiety, looked down in his lap for a moment or two before replying, voice soft - almost meek - “Father did beat me that night. You know why I look like this.”

 

“Because you SAID YOU WISHED HE WAS DEAD, YOU LITTLE FUCKING SOCIOPATH!” Mrs. Izunia all but roared, now getting to her feet. “How would you feel if I told the babysitter I wished you were never born, huh? Let’s see - hey, Noct, full disclosure here, I just feel like I should be completely honest - this one over here is starting to make me feel like I just had one son, not two.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

At first, no one could tell who that came from. Mrs. Izunia assumed it came from Somnus, and responded accordingly, a shocked look on her face as she stared right at him and asked, “Excuse me? What did you just say to me?”

 

“Shut up,” said Noct, sitting in his armchair, gripping the armrests with white, white fingers. “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.”

 

He didn’t stop there, he kept repeating that command, teeth gritting eventually as he felt tears pricking his eyes.

 

Neither Mrs. Izunia, Somnus - still hiding in himself - or Ardyn knew what to say.

 

“I said SHUT UP!” Noct shouted, his voice ragged with tears, his throat tightening.

 

As he was still being watched by the three, the King of Lucis stood on slightly shaky legs, and his hand reached to his side.

 

To a sort of pleasant surprise Noct refused to show the boys and the she-daemon, with a display of light and glass-like glaives slowly spinning around him, his blade materialized in his hand.

 

Now Mrs. Izunia seemed to realize she did not have the loudest voice in the room, and she did as she was told, being very quiet.

 

“That’s right,” Noct said, voice low and dripping with deep, black bitterness as he gripped the handle of his engine blade, “You shut the hell up. You stop talking. Coward.”

 

Ardyn just about had stars in his little eyes as he gazed up at Noct, thinking he could fall in love with a boy like that.

 

(How unfortunate.)

 

“It’s my turn,” said Noct, voice quivering, “And you’re gonna listen to me.”

 

First, he looked to Somnus, his hunched back quivering as he must have started to cry.

 

“Somnus... I have nothing but admiration for you.” That made Somnus look up, if only a little bit. “You live in a place like this and put up with the bullshit you put up with, and you’re still alive. You’re still here. That’s... I can’t even tell you how strong that is. People are going to remember you for thousands of years. Not — not what happened to you here, nobody knows about that - but you’re gonna do something amazing when you grow up, and everyone who knows your name is gonna love you.”

 

Noct felt himself start to tear up again, more strongly this time, and sniffled as one rolled down his cheek. “Everyone I’ve ever met loves you. I love you. You gotta keep being strong, okay?”

 

Somnus’ face crumpled up, and he began to cry even harder, hiding his face again.

 

“I know,” Noct said, letting out a cross between a sob and a laugh, “It sucks. It really fucking sucks. I know. But you can’t give up. You find a way out someday and you become the most important guy who’s ever lived, according to where I’m from.”

 

“You’re lying,” said Somnus in his meek little voice.

 

“I’m not. I swear. I’m telling the truth. Everything I say is true. You’ve gotta keep living any way you can, so you can see that it’s true. Okay?”

 

... Somnus nodded, letting out a weak little sob, which surprised Noct, and he felt that he had passed on the correct message, so now he could continue.

 

“Ardyn...” Noct paused. “... I wish I could say the same about you. I. Things are gonna get better, I promise. You are gonna get out of here, and for a while, things are gonna be great. But they’re gonna suck after that, like - a LOT— you’ll never be under anyone’s control again. This will never happen to you again. But you’ve got a long, hard life ahead of you. I’m sorry.”

 

Ardyn seemed to turn over what Noct said in his head for a moment, and he replied within a second or two.

 

“Now I know for a fact you told my brother the truth,” he said with a weak laugh, “You said I won’t ever be controlled or abused again?”

 

“Yeah. At the very least, you got that going for you. You... It’s hard to explain to a kid, you get power of your own, but it’s... It’s not great. It’s not gonna be fun.”

 

“... I think I could settle for that,” said Ardyn, “You can imagine anything is better than this. Yes, I think I have made my peace with my future already. There’s a sort of fun in it now, you know?”

 

Noct let out a sob at that. Oh gods, Ardyn thought he knew so much, but he knew nothing at all, and it was so, so painful.

 

“But listen— listen,” he said, hiccuping on his own tears softly, “It’s gonna get better after that too. It’s gonna take a long — a REALLY long time, but after that, it’s gonna get better, cause you’re gonna find people who understand you and will take down heaven itself because they love you so much and they want to make the world a better place BECAUSE of you. I’m not kidding. Literally. Holy shit, Ardyn - you’re gonna find a family that loves you so much, you’re not gonna know what to do with yourself. It’s gonna be weird at first but - it’s. It’s good. It’ll be good.”

 

For a moment, Noct thought he broke through Ardyn’s polished exterior, because it looked as though Ardyn was about to break down crying, himself. He simply sniffled, wiping his eye delicately with one finger.

 

“I think that sounds wonderful,” he said, voice small and trembling, “It feels rather appropriate to me, being who I am. A happy ending I have to fight tooth and nail for, give blood and sweat and tears for, but... A happy ending. No strings attached?”

 

“Doesn’t look like it so far,” Noct said, laughing a little, wiping his eyes too, “We’re not done yet. But it looks like we’re gonna win.”

 

“I see,” said Ardyn, a weak smile crossing his face as he teared up once more, too much to hold back, “So you are my family.”

 

“Yeah,” said Noct, “Long story, but. Literally.”

 

Ardyn then looked up at Noct, a bit surprised - a bit embarrassed, a bit nervous over the vague crush he had been nursing these past few months, but... Much to Ardyn’s relief, he found those feelings beginning to fade as he realized he and Noct were in some way related.

 

He didn’t know what he would do with himself if the abuse he suffered had become so much a part of him that the prospect of incest DIDN’T change the course of his heart. Yes, it was a different sort of love he was starting to feel, more humble and pure, he thought.

 

Ardyn wiped his eyes again, hiccuping softly as he found he was now officially crying, and no amount of elegance or dignity was going to change that. Alas.

 

“I love you, big brother,” he said, meaning that in the purest way possible.

 

Noct laughed again, sniffling, “That’s - that’s not quite what I am to you, but I’ll take it. I love you too, Uncle Ardyn.”

 

That made Ardyn snort with amusement, the prospect of him being an uncle to a young adult man - he didn’t realize how funny it truly was, given that he was, in reality, Noct’s great great great great great great great great great great great great great uncle. That many greats at the absolute least, likely more.

 

“What a wonderful nephew I have,” Ardyn said, his voice crumpled up and squeezed in his own throat, whimpery. “In light of all this suffering you’ve diagnosed for my future, I think I can live with that if you and I are alive at the same time.”

 

“We are,” Noct said, “We are. We, uh... We don’t get along great at first, but we understand each other eventually. And I promise when I see you, I’m gonna give you a great big hug. Okay?”

 

“That sounds lovely,” whimpered Ardyn, now hiding his face behind ashamed hands, though his weeping was now of joy.

 

Noct found himself smiling in spite of the tears staining his own face, but... Then he realized he had one more lecture to give, and he stopped smiling, his face turning numb as he looked upon Mrs. Izunia, whose face was about as numb and bitter as his was.

 

“... I can only imagine you die, alone, miserable, weighed down with your own guilt, and in obscurity. Let’s get that out of the way first,” Noct said. “No one but these two are gonna remember you, and that’s only gonna be in their worst moments.”

 

“Sounds about right,” said Mrs. Izunia, seeming to resign herself to her fate.

 

“And I want you to know, I don’t believe the bullshit you were selling. Not even for a second. I didn’t believe it. I know something is going on here, you’re hitting them and touching them or whatever - you or the dad, or maybe both of you, maybe both of you are just sick monsters, and - where is he, actually?”

 

“He’s not here,” Mrs. Izunia said, looking back up at Noct. “This is a dream.”

 

Which sounded about right, too.

 

“... Alright, so I guess I get to talk to you,” Noct said, gripping his sword tighter, “I don’t have much to say. You know you’re a horrible person and you’re gonna have a long, long time of repenting for what you’ve done in the afterlife. You’re not gonna get to be happy for a very long time.”

 

“So there is no Hell,” said Mrs. Izunia thoughtfully.

 

“Nah. We figured that out recently, actually - everyone goes to the same place. Just, everyone gets different amounts of time they spend repenting for whatever awful shit they did in life, and I can say you’re gonna be doing that for a loooong, long time.”

 

“... Yeah,” she said, the look on her face calm - but not smug or confident or defiant, “Yeah. I can see that.”

 

“So you know you’ve been doing all the worst things a mother can do to her kids,” Noct said, sneering with disgust.

 

“This is your dream. I know whatever your subconscious wants me to know - and I’m not even the real lady who did this. I’m what you know about her.”

 

“... Ardyn never told me about you, though,” Noct said, eyes wide.

 

The image of Mrs. Izunia simply shook her head, “Some kids are traumatized so deep that it runs in the family. Generational knowledge, hard-coded in your DNA. It’s not exactly scientifically true, but it’s my best explanation. Some kind of magic, some kind of empathy, something like that.”

 

She closed her eyes for a second and looked up at Noct.

 

“You know what you have to do to wake up. It’s probably about time you say good morning to the kids and do it.”

 

... Noct hesitated.

 

“... I’m gonna see you both someday. I promise,” he said, to both Somnus and Ardyn.

 

“We know,” replied Ardyn, smiling sadly. “We’ll be there. Someday we can all have a nice chat over tea and sandwiches about all of this.”

 

He, Somnus and Noct all chuckled a bit at that.

 

“That sounds good to me,” said Noct, his stomach knotting with sadness, “... Be strong for me, okay? I’ll be there for both of you sooner than you know it.”

 

2000 years wasn’t that long in the grand scheme of things.

 

Noct took a deep breath and readied the engine blade while Mrs. Izunia extended her neck towards him, like putting her head under a guillotine.

 

With tears in his eyes and a burning in his heart, Noct smiled and said,

 

“Good morning, everybody.”

 

—————————————————————

 

When Noct awoke, tears drenching his pillow, he didn’t even remember slicing Mrs. Izunia’s head off. Saying his goodbyes was the only thing he could remember.

 

He felt fingers in his hair, stroking him kindly, and he looked up - it was Luna, smiling sadly down at him.

 

“I wondered whether or not I should wake you,” said Luna, looking a bit apologetic, “You were tossing and turning for a few seconds, but once you stopped, you just looked so... Peaceful. I wondered if - maybe you should just be left to dream until you decided to come back to me.”

 

And Noct immediately welled up with tears again, gritting his teeth before sitting up, burying his face in her chest and letting out a sob. He was met immediately with her heavenly arms around him, her cheek gently nuzzling into his scalp, and her gentle voice in his ear.

 

“Oh, my Noctis,” she cooed, “I’m right here. I’ve got you, and I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

 

It took a minute or two for Noct to notice that there was someone standing beside Luna, and he took a minute or two longer to simply cry, let out all of his feelings of horror and sadness and pain for what he had witnessed, and the knowledge that he had no way to save the boys - particularly Ardyn, whose suffering lasted immensely longer, in a different way, and who had no one to cry for him until very recently.

 

He just dug his nails into the back of her shirt, and let out loud, unashamed sobs right against her chest, right against her beating heart, and her heart ached, pricking her own eyes with tears for him.

 

“I’m so sorry, my Noctis,” she said, having no idea what she was apologizing for, “I’m sorry. I’m here now.”

 

“Lady Lunafreya,” said the husky voice of who was with her, “If you don’t mind, I may just go ahead sit beside him.”

 

“Of course,” she said, sniffling quietly and wiping her eyes with her hand. “Of course. Please, go ahead.”

 

The weight was warm and comforting to Noct, especially since he knew precisely who it was. It was exactly who he needed at the moment, right next to Luna.

 

“... I’m not angry,” said Noct’s uncle, his hand finding its way to Noct’s back, kindly stroking it. “I’m not upset with you.”

 

Ardyn just sounded weary. He had been through a lot last night and this morning, just like Noct had.

 

“I’m not angry,” he repeated, voice lowering to a calming hush, “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

 

“I couldn’t save you,” whimpered Noct, still clinging like a lost little boy to Luna, “The Astrals still abandoned you and everyone hated you for so long and you turned to NIFLHEIM, I — I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t fix it. I’m sorry.”

 

“I know,” Ardyn said, his own heart aching for the boy, “I know. You didn't have to fix anything. You have not failed me or anyone - and you did the most kind, wonderful thing you could have done for Somnus and I, in that dream.”

 

So that confirmed Noct’s suspicions, that he and Ardyn had been sharing the dream since the first night. Ardyn had just been dodgy and dishonest the first night, as always - but this time, not out of any evil intent or maliciousness.

 

This time, it had to have been out of embarrassment. Shame. He must have felt so terrified, so dirty inside, knowing what Noct was about to learn. Oh gods, the poor man. Poor Ardyn. Poor Somnus. Oh gods, it was all just too much for Noct, he was squinting through the tears and through his loud, ragged sobbing, so hard that his eyes began to hurt.

 

“Noctis,” Ardyn murmured, face twisting with pain, “Oh, my poor Noctis. I know. I am so sorry.”

 

“No,” stuttered Noct, hiccuping, “You didn’t— It’s ok—okay— you didn’t do— o anything — bad—“

 

He could hardly speak. He was inconsolable.

 

At that, Ardyn wrapped his arms around Noct’s waist, resting his head on Noct’s shoulder. It was a bit of a convoluted cuddle pile, but... Noct couldn’t lie. He was comforted by all the pressure and warmth surrounding him.

 

“... You and I are kindred souls, aren’t we?” Mused Ardyn, smiling sadly, “Battered, dark, mysterious artist types, haha... We both had... Troubled childhoods, didn’t we?”

 

Noct nodded. He had no idea how Ardyn knew that, but he was right. Noct had similar experiences as a kid, even if it was only a few times, and not within his own family.

 

... No. Only a few times was too many times. It was still wrong, and Noct still didn’t deserve it.

 

Ardyn simply sighed through his nose and said, “You are simply the best nephew I could ask for. You have saved me in ways you don’t realize. You... Intervened where none of my other descendants did, yousteered me off my doomed, wicked path. I would say you saved me, wouldn’t you?”

 

Noct couldn’t disagree with that, he nodded just to show Ardyn he was listening and sniffled softly.

 

Ardyn smiled again.

 

“... You know, someday soon, if... I don’t know, if I were to run into Somnus again, if I were ready to face him after everything that happened, between our parents and the Astrals and. You know what I mean, if somehow that were to happen... I think we really ought to have that chat.”

 

Noct and his beloved family - his wife and his uncle - had no idea of the storm brewing on the horizon, that they were going to meet Somnus sooner than anyone anticipated.

 

So that’s why they felt such a gentle calm in their hearts at that moment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last chapter of this story! i’ll definitely be writing more, since this story does take place in the minivan AU, and i do plan to write another multi-chapter thing at some point about how exactly the gang runs into somnus. it’s not on very good terms, it’s actually on completely absolutely horrible terms, but they work it out after a period of conflict.
> 
> this was certainly the most harrowing chapter to write in this story so i hope people don’t get upset;; not like, “i hope people don’t get upset at me uwu” just more like “i hope this isn’t too hard to read”

**Author's Note:**

> a horror type story placed in the latter half of the main plot of the minivan au. dubiously au canon. will probably continue at some point, noct’s dreams are far from over. this story as a whole will feature disturbing themes that i will warn for at the beginning of relevant chapters AND in the fic’s description as a whole. as of now though this chapter doesn’t get too disturbing or blatant.
> 
> hope folks are able to enjoy this! it’s a little abstract but will make more sense the deeper it goes.


End file.
